


Dirthamen'enaste

by EleAmaruq



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2019-09-17 09:41:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16972218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EleAmaruq/pseuds/EleAmaruq
Summary: While searching the Temple of Dirthamen the Inquisitor and Company stumble upon a surprise. H





	1. Chapter 1

~~ Chapter 1 ~~

After hours trudging through knee-deep stagnant water, battling the undead and revenants, and gathering the body parts needed to perform the ritual, the last thing anyone expected to find once the doors opened was a sarcophagus. Freya glanced at her Mage companion and arched a brow, “Solas? I thought this was some sort of treasure room, not a tomb.”

The Elf stepped forward, his eyes locked on the writing on the outside. “It’s not a tomb…. But this is… unexpected.”

“Well darling, I certainly hope we didn’t go through all that for an ancient corpse. I’m never going to get the stink of the undead and mold out of my clothes.” Vivianne sneered down at her sodden robes as she tapped her staff on the stone floor in irritation. 

“What’s the problem? You’ll just burn them and order new ones. I don't’ think any of us have ever seen you in the same thing twice.” Varric spoke up as he looked through a chest and pocketed a few trinkets.

“Of course not darling. 

Freya watched as Solas continued to inspect the sarcophagus carefully before looking at her with a gleam in his eye she was beginning to recognize. “Inquisitor… I don’t think whoever is in here is dead.” The announcement resulted in a sudden and total silence from the other three. It was a mystery. Who would Dirthamen have found important enough to place here?

“You wanna expand on that startling announcement, Chuckles?” The Dwarf asked in incredulous disbelief. 

“During my wanderings in the Fade, I have heard of the Ancient Immortal Elvhen going into a sort of ‘waking sleep’ when they tired of life. It was called Uthenera.” He brushed some dust from a portion of the stone and leaned closer. As she watched him study the writing Freya couldn’t help but wonder once again what it must be like to have lost so much of her culture and history like the elves had. “Usually there are servants or attendants to tend to the sleeper but if I am translating this correctly, there are sustainments enchantments woven into the very stone. It appears that whoever is in here may have been placed here unwillingly.” 

She moved closer and crouched beside him to look at the writing though it just looked like scribble to her and tucked a black curl over her ear, frowning, “Does it say anything about this person being dangerous?”

“It does not… but the runes carved into the stone are meant to prevent the occupant from getting out. It could be anyone… I would like to have the sarcophagus moved to Skyhold where I could study it more thoroughly.”

Vivianne frowned, “Is that really a wise idea, Solas dear? The creature could be quite mad after such imprisonment.”

Solas shot her a look, clearly irritated by the woman’s choice of words and insulting tone. “And if we don’t and Corypheus's forces take the sarcophagus? Whoever is in here could be made into a dangerous enemy instead of an ally.”

Freya listened to them go back and forth a couple minutes longer before raising and hand to halt them the growing argument. In truth, she agreed with both sides of the argument, but the risk of having potentially two powerful beings to fight instead of just one, “Okay Solas, we’ll have it transferred to Skyhold... But I want it down in the dungeon and behind a barrier before and after it’s been opened until we know for sure whoever is in there is not going to murder us all or blow up Skyhold. Alright?”

“That is fair.” He was pleased, clearly, and Freya smiled at him., “I would like to stay with it during the trip, Make sure nothing happens and the seals are not broken until we are ready to do it ourselves. It would also give me more time to study the contents of the room and make sure nothing is overlooked.”

She hesitated this time not sure if it was really such a good idea, besides, she relied on her Elven advisor more that perhaps her ‘actual’ advisors appreciated. Still, he had a unique point of view and she admired him a great deal. “.... Alright Solas, but don’t take too long getting home.”

“As you say, Inquisitor.” He bowed and she threw a look over her shoulder before they walked out of the room to see him already absorbed in the mystery.

Nodding she turned to her other companions, “Alright, take a look around and be quick, I want to get on our way back”

“Nightingale will have her people in here before we get halfway back turning over every rock to see what we missed anyway.” Varric smirked.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, Sorry it's taken so long to update the story. Between work, life and a little bit of writer's block I've been taking it slow. I'm going to try and post the next chapter in July and see if I can't get on a monthly update schedule. Anyway, I'm so glad you have all enjoyed the first chapter. Thank you for reading and your comments! They made me smile!

~~ Chapter 2 ~~

It took a week for Liliana’s people to scour every inch of the putrid, waterlogged areas Freya had marked on the rough map. The scouts muttering under their breaths or sneering at their constant state of dampness the whole time. It couldn't be helped though. There wasn't a dry surface in the lost temple and everything ended up wet before too long. Every surface was covered in moss and mold which had slowly overtaken and wore away the once beautiful carvings and frescos. Once the painted walls echoed with the whispers of the devout and were lit by flickering torches of green mage fire. Now it was only the drip of water in pools and on the wet stone that rang in their ears like drums, incessantly. The cursed sound even followed them all into their dreams. It had one positive result and that was the increased speed in which everyone worked. 

No one wanted to stay here a moment longer than was absolutely necessary. Anything and everything that could even remotely be valuable to the Inquisition was added to a list and then boxed up. During much of the time, Solas stayed in the main treasure room, looking through every scrap of parchment to find some further clue regarding the sleeper. Much to his frustration, there was nothing but the words carved into the sarcophagus itself. The rest of his time was inspecting anything the scouts found that was of questionable importance. Strangely, the room it lay in was the only room that had not been flooded, and the bold never crept past the threshold. Thus it was the ideal campsite. Solal worried it would soon be as wet as the rest of the place but either the fire they had lit dried the stone far quicker than it should have or there were enchantments still in place that kept this room free of decay.

At long last, the final item had been cataloged and the final box was closed. The wagons were loaded and the slow and careful process of moving the heavy stone sarcophagus through water and upstairs, around corners and finally out into the sunshine. The men and women who labored at his side during this were all sweating and breathing as hard as he was by the time it was over. Never had the sky seemed so blue or the sun so bright. Everything was in sharp contrast and glared beautifully in the eyes of those who had spent weeks in the dark. The moral of the company increased tenfold as everyone’s thoughts focused on one thing. It was time to return to Skyhold and no one was more ready to leave than Solas. 

There was nothing more to learn from the blasted stone coffin, but he still needed to put up a front that he was puzzling through part of the inscription. He didn't need the Nightingale to get word that he was done and have a reason to start asking questions the moment he got back. 

The trip to Skyhold was not without its trials. Due to the size and the weight of the sarcophagus, they were forced to take the well-traveled roads and make the long haul to the bridge northeast of Val Royeaux. Which meant they were easily found and suffered nearly a dozen ambushes by Red Templars and a couple more by desperate bandits before even reaching the damned crossing point. The caravan had nearly been overwhelmed three times after reaching the other side of the bridge and he had been forced to use more magic during one battle than he had allowed to be seen before to help win the fight. After he feigned exhaustion, weakness and even collapsed after insisting he was simply tired to make it seem that he had overtaxed himself in that burst of power. Thankfully no one questioned him but he had no doubt that it would be brought up during the debriefing with Freya and her advisors.

The attempts only proved to Solas that Corypheus had been aware that there was something within the old Temple of importance enough to be utilized to increase his power. It made him that much more intent on opening it and perhaps winning the sleeper over to his cause. In the evenings when they made camp he sat up for hours “studying” the script and writing in his notes or retiring early to walk the fade and try to find the sleeper there. His search, though, was fruitless. Either he/she was not a dreamer, dead or the wards kept them trapped in both realms of consciousness. 

For the first time since he woke from his slumber, he found himself annoyed by not having had a spy in Dirthamen’s inner circle. Which didn’t mean he hadn’t tried, but Dirthamen’s people had been fanatic believers in their ‘God’. It had been useless and so his people had to work on the fringes, gleaning what they could from careful conversations alone. And beyond that, at that time, the Evanuris were not merciful to those they thought may have betrayed them. The suspected offender usually ended up with a quick death or, if the ‘God/ess’ was especially angry or bored, being tortured for decades before they were killed, innocent or not. 

So what made this sleeper so special? Why was this one bound? So many questions and no way to answer them without waking up the sleeper.

It took nearly six weeks for the caravan to finally pull through the gates of the Keep and after the curious onlookers had dispersed, it had taken several hours to maneuver the damned thing down into the dungeon. Even then, there were members of the Inquisition that had followed them down to ask annoying question after question, stalling or halting the work every few minutes as they all but demanded his attention and offer advice. 

Freya was the one to notice his rising temper and finally put a halt to the visitation. “Okay everyone, break it up. I want the work on the wards completed as soon as possible so unless you are going to be assisting in putting the wards up, this area is off limits until Solas reports that he’s ready to wake up our mysterious guest.” Thankfully that had put an end to the visit… well mostly... 

“I could assist you in placing the wards around this rather grandiose coffin. There are a number of protective wards that may be useful, there is one in particular that I have in mind. It’s ancient, passed down from the first Magisters and binds magic into the circle itself. If whoever is in there is a mage any spell they may cast will be unable to cross the boundary line.” Dorian stated as he walked circles around the object of his interest.

“I know the ward you are referring to and it’s ancient Elven, to be precise. But yes, I think that would do well layered over the physical boundary I’m preparing now. The Inquisitor made it abundantly clear that our guest was to be kept within until he or she is deemed not a danger.”

“A wise decision to be sure,” Dorian replied, choosing not to vocalize his irritation at learning yet another Trevinter spell had been stolen and laid claim to by his ancestors. “Where shall I start then?”

**Author's Note:**

> Please be gentle with me, this is the first time I've posted a story.


End file.
